Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

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General Intercessions

[English PDF]

Celebrant: The Lord Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives and salvation to all. This gives us confidence to entrust to him all our needs. 

Deacon/Lector: 

For Church leaders as they continue to proclaim the message Jesus preached, we pray to the Lord... 

That all governments may acknowledge that every human law must correspond to the laws of God, we pray to the Lord... 

That as Christ proclaims liberty to the poor and the captive, we may work to eliminate war, starvation, capital punishment, and abortion, we pray to the Lord… 

That those who are affected by inclement weather may be protected, we pray to the Lord... 

For all who teach religious education, that their words may bring many closer to God, we pray to the Lord... 

That the sick may be comforted and the deceased may share in eternal life, we pray to the Lord... 

Celebrant: 

Father,
We welcome the Gospel of Your Son.
As you answer our prayers,
May the words of that Gospel resound in our hearts
And shape our lives.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Bulletin Insert

“The fact that we know that we are right about the sacred value of human life should make us humble and more determined to spread this message by the love shown in our lives and our willingness to be servants of life.  As St. John reminds us, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8).  Pro-lifers are convinced – mightily convinced – of the boundless mercy of God.  That is the light we bring to the world: the truth about God’s love, about forgiveness, about the beauty of human life in all its stages and states.”  J. Michael Miller, CSB, Archbishop of Vancouver, Canada, Homily at Holy Innocents Annual Pro-Life Mass, January 12, 2010

Homily Suggestions

Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
1 Cor 12:12-30 or 12:12-14, 27
Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Video with homily suggestions

The Gospel reading today fits perfectly with the call for protection of children living in the womb. Such advocacy is at the heart of the Gospel and of Jesus’ mission. “He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captive…to let the oppressed go free.”
Nobody is more oppressed in our world today than the unborn child. The Spirit of the Lord, who is our Advocate in heaven, fills us and makes us advocates for these lives. And that advocacy takes so many numerous forms in the wide variety of activities in the pro-life movement. Just as the second reading reminds us of the diversity of the one Body of Christ, so is that diversity manifested in the pro-life movement which, driven by the same Spirit who is “Father of the poor,” seeks the same ultimate goal.
We need to remind ourselves of the extent of this tragedy, and of the fact that it is “our business” to intervene for the victims of abortion, no less than it is our business to help the victims of crime, war, drugs, poverty, AIDS, and any other type of violence. 
Even abortion supporters admit that it is an act of violence. Ron Fitzsimmons, for example, who served as Executive Director of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers was quoted in the New York Times decades ago, saying, "...The abortion-rights folks know it, the anti-abortion folks know it, and so probably, does everyone else. One of the facts of abortion is that women enter abortion clinics to kill their fetuses. It is a form of killing ...you're ending a life."
In the name and by the power of the God who has saved us, let us strive to save our brothers and sisters in need, starting with those in the womb.

Priests for Life
PO Box 236695 • Cocoa, FL 32923
Tel. 321-500-1000, Toll Free 888-735-3448 • Email: mail@priestsforlife.org